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crash program

American  

noun

  1. a plan of action entailing rapid and intensive production, growth, or the like, undertaken to meet a deadline or solve a pressing problem.

    a crash program to develop a new fighter plane.


Etymology

Origin of crash program

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“They cause hundreds of injuries, and have resulted in massive numbers of claims and payouts in settlements. LA City Officials must act now to jumpstart a crash program to fix these sidewalks.”

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 13, 2026

“We need a crash program for a high-low mix in munitions,” including offensive fires and interceptors, GOP Sen. Roger Wicker said at a recent hearing.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 22, 2026

A crash program to develop a cattle equivalent might make sense, says Carol Cardona, an avian influenza specialist and poultry veterinarian at the University of Minnesota.

From Science Magazine Apr. 1, 2024

Manhattan Project, the World War II–era crash program to build the first-ever atomic bombs.

From Scientific American Jul. 21, 2023

The guiding principle was that a crash program to build the Super bomb required a Los Alamos of its own, and that place should be Livermore.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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